Yorozuya Gets A Serious Personality
by SpyralHax
Summary: Gin-chan's Yorozuya gets a new member. What happens when the serious character of Kyuubei mixes with the insanity of Gintoki and Kagura. Possible Gintoki x Kyuubei later.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01: Kyuubei Wants to learn from Gintoki!?**

**Rating: K**

**Pairing: none for now, possibly GinKyuu later (Gintoki x Kyuubei)**

**This is my first attempt at a Gintama fic, so please let me know how it turned out. Will be an on going story, with Kyuubei bringing her earnest, serious personality to the antics of Gin-chan's Yorozuya. Hopefully it becomes a bit funny as it goes on, though I am not confident about that. Well, for those of you who give it a read, any comments are welcome.**

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As the doorbell for the small apartment went off, its lazy tenant slowly opened one eye. Looking lazily towards the front door, he closed his eye again, trying to get back to sleep. The bell rang again, and this time he opened both eyes, looking with irritation towards the front door. _'It's too early for this.'_ he thought to himself, squeezing the pillow around his head in a vain attempt to get back to sleep.

The doorbell rang again, and now he shot straight up, the closet door to his right sliding slowly open.

"Ah, what's going on Gin-chan?" a small, red haired girl spoke, attempting to rub the sleep out of her eyes, a large trail of drool dripping from her mouth.

"Probably just some peddler, selling something." the lazy looking samurai responded, before turning towards the front door again. "We don't want any, go away!" he shouted as the man lay back down in his futon. His eyes shot open in an even more intense irritation that bordered on anger as the doorbell rang yet again.

"Tch. Didn't you hear me?" he began, standing up quickly and making his way towards the front door. "We don't have any… money…" his words quickly stopped as he opened the front door. Standing for a second, he finally blinked a couple of times, considering the figure at the door.

"Hello. My name is…" the figure was cut off abruptly as Gintoki closed the front door, still blinking with his feet frozen in place.

"Who was it, Gin-chan?" the small red-haired girl asked, slowly making her way from her sleeping quarters. Peering her head around the corner, she quirked her ocean blue eyes upward a bit as she noticed Gintoki's reaction. His lazy blinking was now replaced with a profuse sweating as he slowly turned to face her.

"I-it was nobody Kagura." the nervousness dripped from his voice in almost as large quantities as the sweat from his face. Kagura could tell that it must be something pretty bad to make him react this way. "Just got to get back to sleep…" His mumbling was a little disturbing, and Kagura was curious as to who had come to call.

"This is Gin-chan's Yorozuya, correct?" Came a question from a distinctly female voice, still stuck outside of the front door. Kagura now blinked meekly, recognition just starting to slip through her normally idiotic mind.

"Ah, what is she doing…" she was cut off as Gintoki pounced over to her, slapping his hand over her mouth, muffling the rest of her question.

"Baka. Maybe if we pretend we aren't here, she'll go away."

"But you already answered the front door, Gin-chan." came her straight reply, eyes lowered into a sort of half opened position as she stared at the older man.

"Idiot. If we don't answer, she'll just assume it was a ghost or something. That kind of thing happens all the time." Gintoki was caught, trying to rationalize some way to not answer the person at the door. Kagura nodded in her complete understanding of his statement, which no other person on Earth would possibly get. He sighed, as the two looked intensely at the front door.

His hopes were dashed, as the doorbell rang yet again, the soft voice speaking even through the thin door.

"I know you are in there, samurai-san." Her voice spoke, slipping gently into the ears of the two figures nervously fidgeting inside. Memories of a past encounter went through their minds, and nerves subtly sunk in.

"Um, Gintoki is not home. If you would like to leave a message, I would be glad to make sure that he gets it." Gintoki responded, trying in vain to raise his voice several tones to sound female, causing the girl outside to twitch her brow in irritation. Kagura simply looked incredulously at Gintoki, his plan clearly not very well thought out. Sighing in defeat, Gintoki stood up and walked over to the front door, inviting the agitated younger girl into the small room.

Sitting down with his arms slung over the back of the sofa, he looked over at the girl who had disturbed his morning slumber.

"And? What is it we can help the _Young Master _with today?" he asked somewhat insultingly, hinting at the fact that the younger woman had attempted to hide her gender.

"Well, after what happened, I realized that my sword training was inadequate." she began, clutching her hands on her knees as she spoke. "And you are the strongest samurai I have encountered, even able to defeat my grandfather."

At the compliment, Gintoki felt his pride swell a bit, not usually getting many people to admire his strength. Looking at the younger girl, he noticed that the hesitation he had felt in their previous encounter was gone, and was replaced with what he thought for an instant was… yearning. Shaking that off, he indicated for her to continue, fearing where he thought it was leading.

"Well, to make a long story short, I would like you to train me in the ways of the samurai." She finished, staring earnestly into the crimson eyes of the overly lazy samurai. At her statement, he let out a discontented sigh, fearing that the girl's visit would be heading in this direction.

"No." he answered simply, lifting his hands in the 'stop' motion, eliciting a surprised reaction from the girl. "I already have two disciples, including the eating machine here." Gintoki stopped, hiking his thumb at the alien girl, who had her face buried in a bowl of rice. As she considered the young alien, the female samurai sweat dropped, wondering how such a small figure could eat so much.

"So, simply put, we can't take on any other disciples here." As he spoke, he got a wicked idea. "But, if you really want to learn the ways of the samurai, why not ask those Shinsengumi guys? Those guys are nuts for that kind of thing."

In the Shinsengumi dojo, Hijikata felt a strange chill creep up his spine, wondering what kind of disaster was about to befall him now.

"Hmph. Those guys are weak, and I don't need to learn from such feeble individuals. It has to be you, Shiroyasha." Gintoki quirked his lips up into a slight smile, as the girl had done her research.

"Hooh? So you know about that, do you? Then maybe you understand why I can't let you join us here." he spoke simply, watching with curiosity as the one-eyed samurai dug around inside her coat for something. His eyes began to sparkle as she pulled out a bag of what he assumed was money.

"I assume it is a matter of money. In that case, I am able to pay, so long as you will teach me the ways of the samurai." No sooner had she finished speaking, than Gintoki and Kagura were huddled together, muttering some nonsense about what kind of things they could buy, an intensely evil aura emitting from the two hooligans.

Looking back at the young girl with a glaze of greedy lust in their eyes, the two coughed, glancing briefly to each other as Gintoki spoke.

"Welcome to Gin-chan's Yorozuya, Kyu-chan." Gintoki answered, clasping her hands in a firm handshake. Smiling knowingly, she returned the handshake, looking forward to the honorable lessons that she would be receiving from such a well known survivor of the Joi War.

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**Well, that is chapter 1. Will likely be the shortest chapter, but who knows. As I said, first attempt at this anime, so let me know how it went. Gotta work on my comedic aspects. Let me know what you think of it. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02: Serious people should never take lazy people too seriously**

**Rating: K**

**Well, here is chapter 2. Not very confident about this one, but I just felt I had to put in one more sort of intro chapter before getting into the hijinx. Possible I might do a re-write of this one if it was not to expectations, so please read and review. Always appreciated. Enjoy.**

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Looking around the small apartment, Kyuubei felt her internal tension rising at an exponential level. Whatever she had been expecting from the rumors she had heard, it was certainly not this.

The head of the Yorozuya sat in his large chair, leaning back with the newest issue of Shonen Jump, occasionally digging a stray pinky into his ear. His clothing a mess, eyes half lidded in a most lazy manner, he exuded an aura of inactivity, as though the simple act of even being awake was too much effort.

The small alien girl was no better. She sat in front of what looked to be a huge dog, that the young samurai girl could only assume was the "household" pet. Looking at the dog, it looked plenty innocent. But its size was so overwhelming, as to give anyone a sense of apprehension about approaching it.

Figuring it would be a good idea to not let things get to her, Kyuubei sat on the small sofa, closing her eyes as she attempted to calm down. Breathing in and then out, she slowly felt a bit of calm coming over her, only to be interrupted by the door sliding open.

Everyone in the room looked from what they were doing, glancing over towards the front door. Utter silence filled the room as the bespectacled young boy blanched in the doorway, eyes shifting from the dark blue ponytail, over to the silver natural perm, jaw propped in a sort of fishy manner. He was speechless. Just as it seemed he might blow a gasket, the silence was broken.

"Oh, Shinpachi. What's wrong, you look constipated." came the inappropriate statement from the "leader" of the group of strange people. Shinpachi's glare focused on the figure on the sofa, who considered him in mild curiosity.

"Shinpachi-kun, if that is the problem, then it is something you should handle at your own home." the samurai girl responded, taking Gintoki's idiotic statement as some sort of fact.

"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM HERE!" the younger boy yelled, causing Kyuubei's confusion to increase as she looked over at Gintoki. Seeing her focus on him, Gintoki waved a hand in mild defense, motioning for her to disregard his statement.

Gintoki watched in his normal lazy manner as Shinpachi's breathing began to come more ragged, overreacting to the situation as usual.

"So, what is she doing here?" he asked, pointing at the young samurai on the couch, calming himself down as he did. "Why is she here?"

"I came to learn the art of bushido from the shir-"

"Ah, she came by wanting to learn how to be a samurai, like you." Gintoki interrupted her, not wanting to get too into a discussion about his past. Kagura and Shinpachi looked at each other in mild confusion, but shrugged it off, as that was just Gintoki's style.

After a few minutes, the situation calmed down a bit, and Shinpachi reluctantly accepted it, figuring that if she tried anything, Gintoki could, surely, do something about it.

Once that was done, the routine from earlier repeated itself, but with Shinpachi going about doing random house chores. Gintoki, it seemed, was far too lazy, or otherwise incapable of doing it. The members of the small group lazed about, clearly not expecting any kind of work.

Kyuubei wondered to herself if this was all they did, simply laying about and not getting anything accomplished. She found herself becoming tense from just sitting around, being accustomed to some manner of sword practice over the years. The lack of doing anything started to truly irritate her, and she slammed her palms on the small coffee table in front of her as she shot up.

"Is this all you do every day!?" she asked, the irritation clear on her voice from the extremely laid back attitude of the group, a clear cue from the man in charge.

"Eh? Why not? Life is too short to take it so seriously. Besides, it's not like we ever get any work." Gintoki answered her question, a finger irritatingly lodged in his nose as he spoke, the laziness soaking every word he spoke. The statement sent her aback, all her expectations gone by now.

From the little research she had done, Kyuubei had determined that Sakata Gintoki was one of the most feared members of the Joi Faction during the Amanto War, known by friend and foe alike. The name "Shiroyasha" struck fear in the alien invaders, and from the little glimpse she had gotten of his talent, it was well deserved. With all her prowess in the art of the sword, he had been able to shatter her defense so easily, dealing her a crushing defeat.

But to look on him now, one would have a nearly impossible time of reconciling the two images. One, a savage demon, capable of striking fear into entire armies. The other, a lazy, no ambition sort of lay about. The differences were baffling.

"What a troublesome kid we have this time." Gintoki answered her after a moment, rubbing the back of his head lazily as he walked over to her. "Come on, let's go." His statement confused Shinpachi and Kagura, thinking that he was about to do something serious. They looked expectedly at Gintoki as he approached the younger samurai, motioning for her to stand up.

With some hesitation, the young girl stood, looking quizzically at the older man. He seemed to be giving off a different aura from only a moment ago, and it sent images of his self taught swordplay through her mind. He sized her up, eyes traveling from her feet to her head, taking odd note of her eye patch on the left eye before closing his eyes.

"Let's go. Kagura, Shinpachi, you guys take care of the place while we're gone." His order confused them, as he was seldom one to give formal orders. Nodding weakly, the two looked at each other before going back to their individual activities.

"Where are we going?" Kyuubei asked, noticing the odd expressions on the faces of the other two. _'Why the sudden change?'_ she thought to herself.

"You'll find out soon enough." Gintoki answered. Just as he approached the front door, he got a chill up his spine, as though it were a warning not to open that door. Only two things could give him such a feeling, and he began to sweat profusely. Turning around like a rickety robot, Gintoki looked into the confused eyes of the young samurai. "U-umm, maybe we should go out the back…" His words cracked through his lips, as a knock came at the door.

The knock at the wooden frame froze the older samurai in place, figuring it was one of two possible choices, one less desirable than the other at the moment. And just as his luck would have it, it turned out to be the worst choice.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" a familiar female voice rang in his ears, causing his mood to dampen almost completely. Just as he was about to make a break for it, Gintoki noticed that the younger girl had a smile on her face, and he knew he was boned. Before he could make a sound, the girl was at the door, sliding it open.

"Ah, idiot don't…" he was cut off as he reached out for the girl, the figure from outside coming into his clear view. Silky brown hair swayed lightly in the breeze, a sweet smile belying the violence Gintoki sensed was coming soon. Despite her small frame, the young woman who stood in his view was capable of doing horrific damage to anyone she so desired. He wondered, thinking on that, why anyone would want to marry her.

"Oh, Kyuu-chan. What are you doing here?" she asked sweetly. Though the question might have sounded innocent enough to an outsider, Gintoki chilled another 10 degrees as he caught an apparent undercurrent of accusation, as though it were truly intended for him. Apparently Kyuubei got a similar vibe, as she looked at the older samurai.

"Oh, I came to learn swordsmanship from Sakata-san. He was just about to take me somewhere." As this last phrase escaped her lips, Gintoki knew he was finished. Images of a green field and a solitary tombstone, his name etched across it, flashed through his head. Looking ahead, he realized that his hand had found its way to Kyuubei's shoulder, only confirming his sense of danger.

"Oh, that is wonderful. Shinpachi also came here for that reason. Right, Gintoki-san?" Despite her sweet appearance, Gintoki could tell her true intentions, and he gulped hard as he nodded weakly.

"Th-that's right. And you can see the improvement I have made with him, right Shinp-" Gintoki looked around the room, and felt a stitch grow across his left brow. '_You bastards, I'll remember this.'_ he swore to himself, the other two having disappeared into the small apartment, leaving him to his demise. Apparently they had gotten the same idea as him, and he could hear what he thought were Buddhist prayers slipping lightly from the other room.

"Oh, were you two on your way somewhere?"

"Ah. Gintoki was just about to take me somewhere. It seemed pretty important too." As Kyuubei spoke, the two girls looked to him with different sorts of eyes. One a hint of warning, that no funny business was to be tried. The other was far too trusting, a feeling that would likely be broken before too long.

"Oh. Well, I just stopped by to give something to Shin-chan." Otae spoke sweetly, lifting her homemade lunch in front of her face, causing a blue streak of panic to appear on the face of both samurai in the small apartment.

"Well, have a good day." Gintoki answered quickly, giving a polite wave as he walked past the slender brunette, the other girl following closely behind.

"Be careful you two. It is a dangerous town out there." she responded sweetly, but leaving him no doubt as to her intent. Anything happens to Kyuubei, and retribution will be harsh.

"See you later, Tae-chan." Kyuubei answered in a jovial manner, a bright smile on her face that lifted Gintoki's mood just a bit, a smile slowly creeping its way across his lips. '_Hmm. Maybe there is some hope for her yet.'_ he thought to himself as she approached him.

Reaching the bottom of the small staircase, Gintoki snickered to himself as the sounds of agony reached his ears, his smirk turning a bit malicious. '_Enjoy your day, Shinpachi.'_ the silver haired samurai thought to himself before turning to speak to the younger girl. Her serious expression threw him off a bit, and he cleared his throat as he thought of something to say.

"Well, first thing we need is to relax, and I know just the place." Gintoki spoke, motioning for her to follow.

"But that's what we were doing all day already." she said matter-of-factly, eliciting a mildly frustrated sigh from the older man.

"Well, most of us are always relaxed, but you…" he stopped, turning to point a finger directly towards her, "… are almost as stiff as that Shinsengumi dude." As he spoke, Kyuubei's face turned to one of shock, inferring that he was talking about Hijikata. The thought that it was this perceived fault that had caused her defeat made her more open to listening to him, and nodded her assent as she followed him deeper into the town.

Gintoki sighed to himself, the young girl sticking close to his right side. He looked at her, and couldn't help but smile a bit. It was going to be a long day, but he would enjoy showing her the ropes.

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**Well, there is chapter 2 for you. Otae manages to be such a big threat to everyone, it is a little bit strange. I hope Gintoki knows what he is getting into. As I said, next time we get Kyuubei's full induction into Gintoki's world of insane antics. Let me know what you all thought of this one, and any ideas for things you might want to see the Yorozuya up to would be taken into consideration (always open to getting the fans involved).**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Never take a person at face value**

**Rating: K (likely goes up next update though)**

**Well, chapter 3. Again, not too thrilled with how this one came out, but I kind of ran out of steam when I planted Madao in there. Hopefully next time I can think of some good stuff to put in there. As usual, reviews always appreciated, to let me know if I am doing alright. Enjoy.**

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Sitting on the small stool at the counter of the small ramen shop, Kyuubei sighed deeply as she contemplated the bowl of ramen in front of her. The small shop was nice and clean, and was nearly devoid of customers. It was the kind of place that would be nice to come in and enjoy a solitary meal. But the silence of the place was shattered by a loud, sloppy slurping sound.

Turning her head a bit, the young samurai glanced over at the older man to her left, noticing the seemingly impossible portions he was sucking into his gullet. Odd drops of soup splashed out, marking the corners of his mouth as the stream of noodles disappeared into his mouth. Kyuubei felt an odd twitch on her brow as she watched his unrefined eating habits first hand.

Sighing again, the young girl snapped apart the small wooden picks, swirling them around in the thick soup. Clasping them together, she pulled out a few strands, slurping them carefully into her mouth, savoring the unique flavor of the ramen. She had to admit to herself that it was good food, even if the company left something to be desired.

"Ah, ah, you're doing it wrong." he stated, looking directly at her in that lidded, half asleep manner. The younger girl looked at him quizzically, wondering what he was going on about now.

"Doing what wrong, Sakata-san?" she asked, quirking a brow questioningly as she considered what he meant. With a slight motion of his head, he indicated that he meant the way she was eating. Having grown up in two different circumstances, it would be normal that they had two different methods of doing many things, and it seemed this was one of them.

"You can't go at it in such a wimpy way." he began, gathering more noodles on his own chopsticks, as if in some sort of demonstration. "If you do it like that, the noodles lose their flavor. Weak people don't get to enjoy the full flavor of the food, so you have to go at it full tilt. Like this." As he spoke, he slurped the large grouping of noodles into his mouth, a loud sound echoing through the small shop.

As she watched him suck greedily on the noodles, Kyuubei had a sudden flash of insight, looking curiously as she wondered if her assumption was correct. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded, gathering a large portion of noodles on her own chopsticks. With some hesitation, she gulped down on her nervousness, sucking the wet noodles into her mouth in a similar manner to the older samurai next to her.

Having grown up in a household with many rules and an honorable tradition, Kyuubei had been forced to learn proper etiquette, acting in a civil manner whenever possible. So, to try and take on such a large portion of the messy substance, proved a bit challenging, and she found it hard to swallow it all. Finally managing to swallow the large serving, she looked over to the other samurai, eyes widening in some surprise as she noticed that he was completely done.

Wiping at the corners of his mouth, Gintoki set the chopsticks atop the empty bowl, rubbing contentedly at his stomach.

"Ah, thanks for the meal." he spoke, giving his standard compliments to the cook.

"Wait right there-" the blonde woman began, turning quickly as she spoke. But she was too late, and there was an odd empty space where the slacker samurai had been sitting, a near after image left of his natural perm.

'_When did he…'_ Kyuubei wondered, her eyes wide in surprise as she stared idly at his vacant seat. Suddenly she felt a strong aura of danger coming from directly ahead of her. Looking at the cook, the young girl could not help but gasp in surprise, the young lady smiling evilly as she looked at the girl.

As she left the small ramen shop, Kyuubei couldn't help but to sigh, wondering how she had gotten roped into paying Gintoki's latent tab at the restaurant. As she thought of the situation, the young girl felt her tension rising, a strong killing intent emanating from her as she walked slowly down the street. Scanning the passersby, Kyuubei tried to locate the target of her anger, her glare scaring all the other civilians mightily. Each time eye contact was threatened, the people walking on the side walk averted their gaze, not wanting to risk mortal danger.

There was no way that the person who had just stuck her with his bill could possibly be an honorable samurai, and it must have been some kind of trick that had allowed him to defeat her. This was the only thought echoing through her head as she scanned the busy streets, looking for the slacker. Mistaken identity. That had to be it. There was no way such a devious, and lax individual could possibly have been a survivor of a large war, much less be the target of admiration and fear.

Heading in the direction of the Yorozuya shop, Kyuubei wondered about how the rumors could possibly have gotten it so wrong. Just then, the hairs on her neck stood on end, a strong killing intent emanating from somewhere to her right. Gripping tightly on the handle of her sword, the young girl scanned the crowd, wondering where the intent had come from.

All the tension in her body drained at once, as she looked, almost incredulously, in the direction of a small pachinko parlor. There, at one of the machines, sat the target of her confusion and anger, but all she could do was blink. Hand drawing away from the sword, she stared for a moment longer, wondering where the killing aura had gone, and where it had come from.

Walking towards the pachinko shop, she watched as the facial expressions of the silver haired samurai remained as she had seen it earlier, eyes half closed as though he were about to fall asleep sitting up. Suddenly she felt that tension come back as the memory of his ditching the bill slipped into her mind.

"Is your neck clean?" she asked, approaching the lazy older man, sword glinting as it approached the right side of his neck. Her face locked in a cold glare, she watched as he made no move to defend himself, a move that baffled her. He just kept clicking a round dial back and forth.

"Oh, you're here already. Pull up a seat Young Master." he spoke, tone similar to normal. His voice was even, no hint of fear in it, no hesitation. Taking a calming breath, Kyuubei pulled back, sheathing her sword as she sat next to him, eyes focusing idly on the machine in front of her.

She blinked in surprise, as she saw a hand reaching out from her right, a few small balls in his palm. Quirking a brow in confusion, the older samurai mentioned for her to take the balls, never taking his eyes from the pachinko machine in front of him. Setting her sword gently to the side, but still within reach, Kyuubei muttered a confused thanks, grasping at the balls as he nodded gently.

Slipping the balls into the receptacle, she turned the dial herself, idly watching the silvery orbs cascade down the machine. Not really paying it any attention, her thoughts were filled with the seemingly contradictory actions of the man to her side. Casting a glance in his direction, she just couldn't get a read on the older man.

He seemed totally lazy, and had seemingly no desire to do anything. He had eaten a meal, and left her to handle the bill, only to come and play pachinko. But when she had her sword at his throat, he hadn't moved at all. Did he know that she wouldn't truly kill him? Or was he just so confident in his skills?

"Heh, good luck figuring that guy out." Came a gruff voice from her other side. Looking towards the voice, she saw a man with shaggy brown hair, green shirt loosely covering his body, and dark, square sunglasses atop his nose.

"What do you mean?" she asked, figuring that this oddly worthless looking guy knew Gintoki somehow.

"Heh. That guy is a total bum. I've never seen him pay his tab at a bar or restaurant, and he's always blowing hot air." the man spoke, rather insultingly, as though he had some bad run-ins with the silver haired man in question.

"Eh? This coming from someone who can't hold a steady job, and always comes to me for help with his problems?" Gintoki retorted, finger lodged inappropriately in his nose as he spoke.

From the way he had acted throughout the day, Kyuubei couldn't help but wonder if he had ever actually gotten a job offer before, and she stared disapprovingly at Gintoki. As though sensing her disapproval, the lazy man to her right turned from the machine, staring lazily at her.

As he stared back at her, those dead fish-eyes half lidded shut, Kyuubei got a sense that Gintoki didn't really care of she believed him or not, and that it would be up to her. Turning back to his pachinko machine, Gintoki let out a dissatisfied sound as he noticed he had no balls left to play. Sighing in defeat, he sat up from the machine, slipping his wooden sword into his sash as he walked away.

"Heh. But, you could do a lot worse than follow a guy like that, kid." the older man spoke, eliciting another surprised reaction from the young girl. "He lives true to his own bushido, and nobody can change that." As he spoke, a puff of smoke from his cigarette wafting around him, Kyuubei looked back towards Gintoki, watching as the sunlight cast him in a strange light. And just then, for only a brief moment, she felt a strange twinge in her chest. She felt like she could see his soul, and it was a beautiful silver color, soothing and strong.

A small smile finding its way across her lips, Kyuubei picked up her sword, slipping it under her coat as she made way to follow her "mentor". She knew now that it wasn't a mistake to follow him. Even though she had to look hard to see the light.

But her joy was cut short, as a loud whistling sound echoing through the air. Gintoki had stopped, and looked towards her, a small orb becoming larger as it closed in on the small shop. This day was just getting started, and Kyuubei sighed with this realization.

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**That was a bit odd at the end, as I just kind of ran out of steam. The next update will be better, I promise. Next time, Kyuubei meets an old comrade of Gintoki, and Hijikata tries to pick a fight. Look out for that one, y'all. Reviews, positive or otherwise, are always appreciated. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04: You can tell trouble before it arrives if you look close enough**

**Rating: K (probably up to T next time)**

**Well, after almost a week, here is chapter 4. Turned out a bit odd, but I think it was alright. Basic introductions of Katsura and Shinsengumi to the story. Let me know how you all thought it turned out. Kyuubei is noticing some changes in herself, and Gin has the same. What will happen? Likely start a bit of romance in next part, but for now, R&R. Enjoy.**

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The noise of the busy street dimmed down instantly, everyone in earshot looking towards the nearly destroyed pachinko parlor. A large cloud of dust rose up from where the ruckus had been, making it impossible to see anything clearly. After a minute, movement could be seen within the cloud of dust, as people started to move.

Kyuubei coughed a bit, batting her eyes in an attempt to see through the dust cloud. As it dissipated, she realized that something was keeping her pinned to the ground.

"Oi, are you alright?" her eyes widened, as he spoke. The dust cleared a bit further, and the young girl blushed as she realized her position. Looking directly ahead, she caught Gintoki's crimson eyes staring down at her. As he shifted his position, the young girl could feel an odd thump in her chest, swallowing hard as Gintoki dusted off his clothing.

"A-ah, I am fine." she spoke, with some hesitance, not wanting to look him in the eyes. Looking around the small room, the dust finally cleared, and she was surprised that nobody seemed seriously injured.

Gintoki felt his eyebrow twitch, figuring that there was only one person capable of causing this. Looking around the pachinko parlor, he looked for anything out of place. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on what looked like a small trash bin near the former entrance to the building.

Walking up to the shiny metal object, he leaned against the wall just to the right of it, motioning for Kyuubei to come over towards him. Looking inquisitively at him, she nodded, hand reaching for the handle of her sword as she approached the object.

"Ah, it's a good thing nobody was hurt during this." he spoke, seemingly to nobody in particular. "Ah, but look, it's the Shinsengumi!"

As he spoke, pointing in a random direction, Kyuubei watched in surprise as the trash bin began to move, legs seemingly sprouting out of the bottom of it. As the sandals clacked on the floor, the trash bin seemed to move in a random direction.

"Zura, you look like a chicken with no head!" Gintoki exclaimed, kicking the waste basket full force directly in the center, sending it flying towards the other end of the pachinko parlor. A loud crash followed by an equally loud groan of pain echoed from where the object slammed into the wall, another small cloud of dust emanating from the crater.

Kyuubei felt her eyes narrowing, as Gintoki approached the small crater. She watched as a man slowly stood from the dust, long black hair flowing down his back to his shoulders. Straightening his blue kimono, the man cleared his throat, staring directly at Gintoki.

"Ah. Gintoki. What are you doi-?" he could not finish his question as Gintoki suddenly slammed a fist directly into the other man's nose.

"Zura, you better not be dragging me and my associate here into anymore of your troubles." Gintoki spoke, a slightly cold tone on his voice, as he approached the other man.

"It's not Zura. It's Katsura. And just listen for a minute." the other man spoke, in a manner of familiarity with the silver haired samurai.

"55...54..." Gintoki began to count backwards, indicating his lack of patience for the inevitable hassle that was bound to show up.

"Well, we were going to launch an attack on the government headquarters, but their dogs were somehow prepared for us." Katsura spoke, eliciting a throbbing red stitch on the forehead of his former colleague.

"I already assumed that. You were always as bad at keeping secrets as a high school girl. Maybe you should stop showing yourself around town, since you're more wanted than Al Capone." Gintoki sneered, pointing accusingly at the other man.

"Not Al Capone. It's Katsura." As the young man spoke, Kyuubei felt herself in an awkward position. She didn't think it was possible, but here was someone more out of touch with things than Gintoki seemed. Setting her soft hazel eyes on the man, they widened in surprise as she finally realized who he was.

"Ah! The Joi Faction!" she exclaimed, standing between Gintoki and the man, sword drawn directly towards the man.

Sighing with some frustration, Gintoki grabbed her shoulder, causing her to look back at him. Gintoki shook his head, indicating that things were alright, causing some confusion from the younger girl. Hesitantly, she lowered her sword, still staring at the young man ahead of her. She wondered whether or not he was really the wanted criminal Kotaro Katsura. After all, it would be strange for such a wanted person to simply be out in the open.

"And? I assume you want my help with something?" Gintoki spoke plainly, digging idly in his ear with a stray pinky finger. Kyuubei looked surprised, realizing that these two did indeed know each other.

"Aa. Fight with me once more." As Katsura spoke, Kyuubei realized she had been correct in his identity, feeling more confused at the idea that he would just be standing out in the open like this.

"Eh. That's too troublesome. You really need to give it a rest, Zura. I've put that war behind me, and you need to do the same." Gintoki spoke, flicking the results of his digging in a random direction. "Besides, it'll be way too much work to deal with those Shinsengumi guys." he added, that lazy look on his face as usual.

"Oh. And who is this young lady?" Katsura spoke, looking directly into Kyuubei's eyes. "How about you? Would you like to help expel the foreigners from our country?" As he spoke, he put a hand assuringly on her shoulder.

"Baka." Gintoki retorted, as Kyuubei dropped her sword. Grabbing Zura's arm, she turned, throwing him towards yet a third wall. Standing in a position as though hurling a baseball, Kyuubei tried to catch her breath.

"Ah. Sorry." she apologized, bowing politely.

"Baka. The young master here gets nervous when a man touches her, and hurls them like Nolan Ryan." Gintoki smirked, hiking his thumb toward the girl, crouching mockingly in front of his friend.

"Heh. Not bad. Your friend has some skill." Katsura spoke, standing up weakly from the throw, blood trailing comically down his face.

"Hmph. She has more skill than you, Zura." Gintoki mocked the other man, not envious of his situation. Resting his right elbow in the loose sleeve, he turned, heading out of the pachinko parlor. "Come on, Young Master." he spoke, tilting his head for her to follow.

Nodding slightly, Kyuubei sheathed her sword, before turning to follow the silver haired samurai. As she walked, she took one last glance at Katsura, who seemed to be feeling quite woozy. Speeding up her pace a bit, she caught up to Gintoki.

'_Have you seen Katsura?'_ read a small sign, held by what looked like a misshapen penguin of some sort. Kyuubei stared at the thing, wondering what it was. The face looked oddly painted on, as though it were some manner of costume, adding to the confusion the thing elicited.

"Oh. Zura is back there somewhere." Gintoki spoke, hiking a thumb back towards the back of the parlor. "Make sure you keep him out of trouble, Elizabeth."

'_Thanks. I'll try. Have a nice day.'_ the sign turned around, new text appearing on it. Kyuubei was even more surprised at this, as the thing had no time to write the text on the sign. _'Oh, and pleasure to meet you, Miss.'_ the sign read, turning yet again with new text. She stood dumbfounded, unable to think of an appropriate response.

"Come on, Kyuubei, don't be rude." Gintoki stated, shaking the young girl from her mild stupor. She looked at him, wondering how he could not react at all to such a strange thing.

"A-aa. Pleasure to meet you too, Elizabeth-san." Kyuubei responded, bowing politely again as she turned to exit the small place with Gintoki. She watched as Gintoki gave a small wave backwards, either towards Elizabeth or Katsura.

As the pair walked slowly down the street, Kyuubei could tell that Gintoki as agitated. His brow twitched ever so slightly, clearly annoyed with Katsura's interruption of his leisure time. Suddenly, he stopped walking, looking dead ahead. Kyuubei watched as his eyes narrowed, as though focusing on something in the distance. Before she could get a read on what it was, the young girl felt herself being pulled along, as Gintoki ducked behind a nearby sign.

"Ah, Gintoki-san, what are we-" she was cut off as Gintoki slapped a hand to her mouth, quieting her voice. She noted the seeming distress on his face as he watched a crowd of people clad in black parading down the street. Focusing slightly, Kyuubei could make out that it was the Shinsengumi, looking all around the street for something.

"Probably looking for Katsura. Just keep quiet, and we can get away." Gintoki whispered to the young girl, staring directly ahead as he did.

'_But we haven't done anything wrong, so why does he want to get away?'_ she wondered to herself, feeling there was something going on that he wasn't saying.

"Eh, Danna, what are you doing back here?" Gintoki's head slowly turned to the side, as he caught the voice of the brown haired Shinsengumi. Narrowing his eyes in that lazy manner, as though they were simple semi-circles hanging off a straight line, Gintoki looked directly at the younger man.

"Aaaaaaah!" he screamed, jumping out from behind the sign, startled by Okita's sudden appearance. Suddenly all the Shinsengumi officers looked over at the commotion, staring intently at the outrageously obnoxious young man. Kyuubei, for her part, simply stood, wondering what Gintoki was freaking out about.

"Eh, that's rude, danna. I'm not some ghost or something." Okita spoke in his sarcastic manner, dusting himself off as he walked from behind the sign.

"You're worse than a ghost. You're like a curse." Gintoki spoke, trying his best to get his breath back.

"Then how about I send you to the after life, like a good curse?" came a gruff voice from behind Gintoki, a sword dangerously against his neck. Putting his hands up as though under arrest, Gintoki turned slowly towards the gruff Shinsengumi vice-captain.

"Oh, Hijikata-san. How are you today?" he spoke simply, trying to ignore the dire situation he seemed to be in.

"Well, it's a good day for catching terrorists." the other man spoke, a small puff of smoke emanating from the cigarette in his mouth. "And it seems I will get something just as good on top of it." he added, smirking as he pulled his sword from the Yorozuya's neck.

"Oh? And what would that be? Looking for a little luck with the ladies?" Gintoki prodded the other man a bit, eliciting a mocking chuckle from Okita, who had moved behind Hijikata.

"Cheh. Like hell I need something like that." Hijikata sneered, tightening his grip on his katana. "I get your head, bastard!" he exclaimed, thrusting his sword directly towards Gintoki's chest.

He was surprised, as his steel met another sword, stopping him just in front of its target.

"Is that the proper way for a public official to act? Attacking random people on the streets?" came a cold female voice, causing Hijikata's eyes to widen in surprise, seeing the only other person to have defeated him standing between him and his target.

"Oh? It seems I really am lucky today, to meet both of you at once." Hijikata smirked, his black jacket flowing in the breeze.

"Umm… Hijikata-san?" Gintoki spoke, that odd expression on his face, as Kyuubei sheathed her sword.

"What, trying to beg your way out of this?" Hijikata sneered, taking another drag of his cigarette. Gintoki only blinked, and joined Kyuubei in pointing directly behind the man. His eyes widened as he figured out what they were staring at, and turned suddenly.

"See you in hell, Hijikata-san." Okita said in his usual, cool tone, pulling the trigger on his huge bazooka. Gintoki grabbed Kyuubei's hand, jetting away in an odd burst of speed.

A loud explosion could be heard from the spot where Gintoki and Kyuubei had been standing, and she couldn't help but sweat drop, wondering what had happened.

'_I thought they were friends, but here they are trying to kill each other… strange.'_ she thought, slowing down as Gintoki did the same, catching his breath after the sprint. In the distance, both could hear an argument, as Hijikata had apparently avoided death yet again. The people on the street crowded around, looking in wonder as the two Shinsengumi officers got into a high speed sword fight, the younger man easily evading the wild swings of the gruff vice-captain.

"Hah. Those guys are too much." Gintoki spoke, rubbing idly at his shoulder.

"So, what are we to do next, Gintoki-san?" Kyuubei asked, a look of curiosity on her innocent face. Gintoki was oddly at a loss, staring at her face, realizing for the first time just how good looking she was. Shaking the thought loose, he looked ahead.

"I guess we will just go home, and hope things settle down a bit." he spoke simply, as he took a few steps towards the Yorozuya's headquarters.

Walking down the street, Kyuubei thought back on the events of the day, and realized that she was feeling oddly tired. Having so many events happening on top of each other was strange, but Gintoki didn't seem to be affected by it at all. _'Must be because he is used to it.'_ she surmised, smiling to herself as she felt the cool breeze on her face.

Then another realization hit her. When Katsura had touched her shoulder, she had hurled him like a paper airplane. But through the day, Gintoki had touched her a few times, and she had not reacted at all. Looking over at him, she felt her eyes widen as she watched his oddly noble looking features. _'Why is it that I seem alright if he touches me?'_ she wondered, a thought that sent much confusion through her.

Deciding not to think of it too much, she shook her head lightly, erasing the thoughts from her mind. Finally reaching the small building, Gintoki woke her from her mild stupor.

"Oi, are you alright?" he asked, looking directly into her soft hazel eyes. "Don't worry, not every day is this crazy." he said, a comforting smile on his lips as he spoke, taking a step up the stairs.

"A-aa." she simply agreed, nodding her head lightly as she followed. Though, she found herself hoping that things would be so interesting every day.

* * *

**The Yorozuya is always good for some entertainment, that is for certain. Someone with a sheltered life would likely enjoy things like that. For my next story, I am planning a Gin/Kyuu oneshot, but no idea on the story for it yet. Next update here will have the Yorozuya's first job with Kyuubei on the team. Hope it comes out well. Reviews always appreciated, bad or good.**


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